Santa Teresa Tram, Rio de Janeiro

One of Rio de Janeiro's best – and cheapest – attractions is a ride on the Santa Teresa tram to the Largo do Guimarães. Here's how to catch the tram (bondinho) and stay on it.

Rio de Janeiro's Bondinho

Rio's Santa Teresa tram, or bondinho, has been preserved both as a piece of history and as a quick, fun, cheap way of getting to one of the most quirky parts of town.

The tram station is near Cinelandia and the Theatro Municipal. There are few signs and very little information there, but you'll find a cheap and cheerful pay-by-weight restaurant and an unmarked toilet at one end of the platform – ask at the office for the key.

Trams leave every half an hour between 6am and 11pm. A ticket is just BR$0.60 (US$0.35), one way or return, and you pay as you go through the barrier to the right of the entrance. If you’re at the end of the queue that’s part of the fun, as you’re forced to hang off the sides along with a gaggle of giggling schoolgirls, an impeccably dressed businessman with a mobile phone, and an assortment of scruffy urchins crouching on the steps to avoid the eagle-eyed conductor.

Tram Ride Up to Largo das Neves

The twenty minute ride to Largo das Neves is an exhilarating experience. The banana-yellow open-sided tram, originally built in the 19th century and operated by two bronze levers and a big leather wheel, is a cross between a roller coaster, a bucking bronco, and a bumper car. If you’re a health and safety officer prone to heart attacks, you’d best stay at home.

It grunts and bumps its way up over the 18th century Arcos de Lapa aqueduct and up through the higgledy-piggledy streets of the Santa Teresa district, tinging its bell, and occasionally screeching to a halt to let more passengers leap aboard or to avoid a head-on collision with a bus coming the other way.

Passing Rio de Janeiro's History and Views

Hold onto your camera, as the open-sided trams are an open-invitation to pickpockets, but don’t forget to take it, as you’ll pass some of the most spectacular views over Rio this side of Corcovado, as well as a host of finely preserved colonial and 19th century houses. These houses were once the preserve of wealthy businessmen and foreigners, and are now inhabited by artists, intellectuals and artisans.

Where to Get Off the Santa Teresa Tram

Continuing to the end of the line is a good way of getting the feel of the place, but your best bet is to stay on the tram as it descends the hill again and get off at Largo do Guimarães. This square has a friendly, relaxed feel to it, and a couple of the best restaurants around.

In one corner is the Largo das Letras, a pleasant bookshop with a simple coffee bar (2pm-10pm Tues-Sat, 2pm-8pm Sun), set inside a well-preserved colonial house. On the first Sunday of the month, noon-6pm, a flea market is held in its gardens.

In another corner is a small cinema showing Portuguese language films (2507 6841, www.cinesanta.com.br, afternoons only). There are also several shops selling good quality arts and crafts, great for gifts and souvenirs.

Stroll Back Down to Parque das Ruinas

Now stroll down Rua Almte Alexandrino, following the tram lines, towards Curvelo station. Around here are some of the most interesting places to visit in Santa Teresa, well signposted and marked on a helpful map, as well as some of the best picture opportunities.

The Parque das Ruinas (follow the signs along Dias de Barros, and take the first left up Murtinho Nobre, open daily 9am-5pm) is where the so-called ‘Mistress of Elegance’ Laurinda Santos Lobos held her exclusive parties, and is now an exhibition space with public toilets and a small park overlooking the city. The reconstruction project involves supporting the ruins with modernist neoclassical cast iron and glass structures, and is an interesting, if somewhat bizarre sight.

There is a bridge from here over to the Chácara do Céu museum (2285 0891, open daily noon-5pm except Tues), an eclectic private collection of Brazilian, European and Oriental art in a lovely country house. The second left off Dias de Barros will take you onto the Ladeira de Santa Teresa, at the end of which is the 1750 convent which gave the hill its name. It’s worth a photo, although you can’t enter the building itself.

Back to Rio de Janeiro Centre

You can jump on the tram again at Curvelo, as it’s a long and rather unexciting way down to the bottom on foot. There are several tram and bus stops marked by blue and white signs if you fancy walking part of the way. Buses 206 and 214 will take you to Avenida Rio Branco. It is inadvisable to visit the area at night (and at any rate, Santa Teresa is most alive on Saturday and Sunday afternoons), but if you do only take a taxi.

There are also plenty of other novelty experiences to be had in Rio de Janeiro, including touring the infamous favelas, catching a play at the Theatro Municipal or strolling the Botanic Gardens.